UGADI DISCOURSE Of SATHYA SAI BABA 2005
LOVE AND UNITY – YOUR TRUE AND ETERNAL PROPERTY
The creation emerges from truth and merges into truth,
Is there a place in the cosmos where truth does not exist?
Ponder this pure and unsullied truth with wonder and joy.
(Telugu poem)
The body is made up of five elements and is bound to perish sooner or
later but the indweller has neither birth nor death. The indweller has no
attachment whatsoever and is the eternal witness. The indweller in the
form of the Atma is verily God Himself. (Telugu poem)
The melodious songs and Bhajans of the devotees from Hyderabad this
morning was a joy for the ears and feast for the heart.
Divine love is the most precious thing in this world. No amount of
extolling its virtues will exhaust its greatness as no living thing of
this world can be devoid of the influence of love. Saint Thyagaraja sang:
From an ant to the Brahman, in Siva or in Kesava, You do indwell in pure
unsullied form of love, oh Rama, please be my protector too. (Telugu Poem)
What is the form of an ant and what is the form of Brahman? Brahman is
infinite. On the other hand, ant is a tiny creature. From the physical
point of view, there can be no comparison between the form of an ant and
the form of Brahman. But from the spiritual point of view, Divinity is
immanent in both.
A hungry bear once went to an anthill and pleaded with an ant saying, “I
am unable to bear the pangs of hunger. Please give me some food.” The ant
could not control its laughter. It said, “How can a tiny creature like me
alone provide food for you? I don’t have sufficient food to satisfy your
hunger, wait, let me see what can be done.” It is natural for ants to
store food for six months in their anthills. It went inside and with the
help of its fellows brought out some of the food that had been stored. The
bear wondered, “How could a tiny creature like an ant store so much food?”
If one has the desire and puts in the necessary effort, one can amass
anything; it does not matter whether one is big or small. It is said,
Jantunam Nara Janma Durlabham (out of all living beings, human birth is
the rarest). Ants, though tiny in form, are able to acquire food, share it
with friends and also store for future. But, modern man, in spite of being
endowed with intelligence, is frequently unable to earn his food even for
a single day. Is it not a matter of shame? In this world, there is no
being superior to the human intelligence. But they are unable to make
proper use of their intelligence. They conduct themselves in an unworthy
manner because of their selfishness and self-interest. Humans do not lack
for anything in their life. There is everything at their disposal. They
lack the discrimination to make proper use of the resources available.
They are not able to give up their petty qualities and rise to a higher
level. There is a lesson to be learnt even from ants. When an ant bites
ones leg, one feels the irritation and immediately tries to kill it. But
they are not making efforts to kill the evil qualities within themselves
which are making their lives miserable.
Embodiments of Love!
In this vast world, no matter where you look, you cannot find any motive
power more powerful and more valuable than love. Deep-rooted selfishness
and self-interest are making man’s intelligence perverted and leading him
astray. When you give up selfishness, humanness will blossom in you and
your latent powers will manifest. Your power of intelligence will become
manifold.
Embodiments of Love!
Nowadays students are reading a wide variety of books. But there is little
use in studying a Pustaka (book), if the Mastaka (head) is filled with
rubbish. Students are filling their heads with useless information and in
the process are misusing their energy. There is no point in going through
a number of textbooks over and over again. They cannot save you from the
cycle of birth and death. You should acquire such knowledge, which will
make you immortal. Present day students have become proficient in bookish
knowledge. They have the intelligence to answer any question from the
textbook. But they are not making efforts to translate their bookish
knowledge into practical knowledge.
One may acquire a high academic qualification such as M.A. and B.A. and
attain exalted position,
One may amass wealth, perform acts of charity and attain name and fame,
One may have physical strength and enjoy a long and healthy life,
One may be a great scholar studying and preaching the Vedas,
But none can equal a true devotee of the Lord. (Telugu Poem)
The knowledge one acquires should be utilised for the benefit of society.
We should utilise our wealth and knowledge not for selfish purposes, but
for the welfare of others. God has given you the human body not merely to
eat, sleep and enjoy worldly pleasures. Paropakarartham Idam Sariram
(human body is meant to do good to others). The body is given to you so
that you make proper use of your intelligence and power of discrimination
and manifest your innate human values. Of what use is your education and
intelligence if society is not benefited by them? Presently man is making
new discoveries and inventions but till this day he has not really
understood the purpose of human birth. What is the meaning of the word
Manava (human being)? 'Ma' means Ajnana (ignorance), 'Na' means without, 'Va'
means Varthinchuta (vrittih yasya sah) (to conduct oneself). Hence, Manava
is one who conducts himself without ignorance. But, these days we hardly
find anyone leading a life of wisdom in consonance with the name Manava.
In spite of being endowed with high degree of intelligence, man is
frittering away his life in vain pursuits. Before undertaking any task, he
should enquire whether it would befit the title of a human being. He
should accept everything as the Will of God. God has blessed man with
intelligence, knowledge and wealth so that he will work for the welfare of
others. But, man is acting contrary to God’s wish and thereby ruining
himself. Animals like bulls and buffaloes render service to man in a
number of ways. But, man lacks the spirit of service that even animals
possess. Without understanding the purpose of human birth, man is
developing demonic qualities and leading a miserable life. Vyashti
(individual) signifies humanness and Samashti (society) symbolises
divinity. Hence, one can attain divinity only by serving society.
Embodiments of Love!
You may be highly educated and intelligent, yet there is so much you can
learn from ants, birds and animals. These lessons of life cannot be taught
in the classroom. Even teachers are not making efforts to understand the
principle of divinity within. Education is not meant to merely eke out a
livelihood. You have to share your knowledge with others, give joy to one
and all and thereby rise to the level of the Divine. Samatwa
(equal-mindedness) is the hallmark of a true human being. Manavatwa
without Samatwa cannot attain Divyatwa (divinity). Hence, develop Samatwa
in the first instance. Divine power is latent in every human being. But
man is becoming weak as he is unable to realise his latent divine power.
In order to manifest the divine power, one should cultivate sacred
feelings. Manavatwa has not come into existence in the recent past, it has
been there since ages. Human being is born from the womb of the mother,
but humanness has originated from divinity and is present at all times.
There is divinity in every human being. As he is unable to recognise his
innate divinity, man is forgetting his very human nature itself. What is
the use of being human only in form but not in practice? Human birth will
find fulfilment only when we practise human qualities. All the sacred
texts such as Upanishads and Sastras are meant to show mankind the path of
redemption. Man should manifest his latent divinity by following their
teachings. The sacred texts will bring out the hidden treasures of
divinity from within. That is why Bhagawan has introduced Educare
programme in the educational institutions. Education is related to worldly
knowledge. It can be acquired by going through books, whereas educare is
meant to externalise the latent divinity in man. Education has temporary
benefits, whereas educare bestows everlasting happiness. One cannot become
great by mere acquisition of education. One should practise educare and
manifest the latent values.
Embodiments of Love!
Educare is the need of the hour. Only through educare can you realise
divinity which is present in every atom and every cell of your body. In
fact, you are seeing divinity every moment but are unable to recognise
this truth. You can call yourself educated only when you recognise
divinity which is all-pervasive. Secular knowledge is related to education
which can be acquired from outside. It is mere bookish knowledge, whereas
educare cannot be acquired from books. No benefit accrues by gathering
information from books. What is required is transformation and it is
possible only through educare. Acquisition of information which cannot
lead to transformation is a mere waste of time. But man has developed a
taste for such information which is but a waste. Man’s intelligence,
knowledge and power are all the gifts of God. They have to be nourished
and made proper use of, through educare. Truly, God has endowed man with
immense potential. That is love. It is beyond all description and measure.
There is no greater power than this. But man is giving up such power
without realising its value. He is under the mistaken notion that love
means physical and worldly relationship. True love lies in unification of
two hearts. People utter this word repeatedly without actually knowing its
meaning. Love does not hurt anybody. It always helps. Hence, consider love
as your true wealth. There is no property greater than love in this world.
You are misusing the God-given gift of love by diverting it on worldly
matters and sensual pleasures. Your foremost duty is to make proper use of
love by following the dictum, Help ever, Hurt never. There is no greater
Dharma than this.
Embodiments of Love!
Love is your only true and eternal property. But, you are diverting it on
mean and worldly pursuits. It should be treasured in your heart and
utilised for sacred purposes. You may share it with any number of people,
it will never diminish. You are unable to understand and experience love
in its true spirit. Love is the life-breath of every being. In order to
understand love, you have to dive deep into the ocean of love. Love cannot
be understood from a superficial level, you have to immerse yourself
completely in love. Worldly love is such that you can just taste it and
give it up, but once you taste divine love, you will never give it up.
Love is God, God is love. Hence, you cannot separate love from God. Live
in love. That is the only way you can understand love and experience God.
Embodiments of Love!
It may be easy to give lectures on love, but it is difficult to understand
it. Make every effort to experience love. If you understand the nature of
your love, you will understand the love of others. Love is in you, with
you and around you. Once you understand love, you will become the very
embodiment of love.
Students!
The more you understand the principle of love, the nobler you will become.
Once you understand the principle of love and put it into practice, others
will also try to emulate you.
In the epic Ramayana, not only the four brothers, Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata,
Satrughna, but also their wives played important roles. They demonstrated
great ideals to the world. People extol only Rama and ignore the model
conduct of the others. In fact, each of them was as great as Rama Himself.
You might have heard of Sumitra, the mother of Lakshmana and Satrughna.
People do not attach much importance to her role in the Ramayana. In fact,
her name does not figure prominently in the epic. She was a paragon of
virtues. Her name Su-mitra itself signifies that she was a good friend to
one and all. She shared her happiness with everyone. Kausalya and Kaikeyi
had one son each, whereas Sumitra had two sons.
When we enquire into the reason, we can understand the mystery behind it.
When Dasaratha performed the Putrakameshti Yaga, the Yajna Purusha
appeared and handed over the vessel of sacred pudding to Vasishtha.
Vasishtha gave the sacred pudding to Dasaratha who in turn distributed it
equally between his three wives. Kausalya and Kaikeyi took their share of
the pudding to their respective Puja rooms. Each of them was happy
thinking that her son would be the heir apparent to Ayodhya throne. But
Sumitra had no such thoughts. She carried her bowl of pudding to the
terrace and placed it on the parapet wall while drying her hair in the
sun. Suddenly, an eagle swooped down and carried away the bowl of sacred
pudding. She immediately ran down and informed Kausalya and Kaikeyi about
what had happened. Kausalya and Kaikeyi came to the rescue of Sumitra and
shared their sacred pudding with her.
Kaikeyi gave half of her share to Sumitra. Kausalya did the same. In due
course, Kausalya gave birth to Rama, Kaikeyi to Bharata, and Sumitra to
Lakshmana and Satrughna. The sons of Kausalya and Kaikeyi were happily
playing in their cradles whereas Sumitra’s sons were crying all the time,
day and night, without even taking food. Sumitra went to sage Vasishtha
and told him about her predicament. Sage Vasishtha closed his eyes. His
Yogic vision enabled him to know the truth. He said to Sumitra,“As you
partook of the sacred pudding given by Kausalya, you gave birth to
Lakshmana who is an Amsa (part) of Rama. Similarly, Satrughna is born out
of the share of pudding given to you by Kaikeyi. So, he is a part of
Bharata. Put Lakshmana by the side of Rama and Satrughna by the side of
Bharata. Then they will rest peacefully.” Sumitra did as instructed by
Vasishtha. The children became peaceful and stopped crying. Sumitra felt
very happy at this and said to Kausalya and Kaikeyi, “Lakshmana and
Satrughna are your gifts. My children will serve your children. Lakshmana
will serve Rama and Satrughna will serve Bharata. It is my good fortune
that my sons will serve their brothers.” This was the basis of the
intimate relationship between Rama and Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna.
Sumitra used to experience ineffable bliss, since her two sons Lakshmana
and Satrughna were always in the company of Rama and Bharata. She was
never depressed by the separation of her children. No one knows why
certain things happen and for what purpose. As the four sons of King
Dasaratha were growing, Lakshmana always used to accompany Rama and
Satrughna would accompany Bharata. Both Lakshmana and Satrughna were
mighty warriors. Without them, there can be no Ramayana at all! Lakshmana
was born to serve Rama and Satrughna was born to serve Bharata. Lakshmana
was the Embodiment of Love. Similarly, Satrughna used to serve Bharata
with all the power at his command. Thus, the four brothers Rama, Lakshmana,
Bharata and Satrughna were inseparable. Hence, it is not correct to say
that Rama was born to Kausalya, Bharata to Kaikeyi and Lakshmana and
Satrughna to Sumitra. Though their mothers were different, they always
used to move about in the company of one another. The four brothers Rama,
Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna are parts of the same substance and
facets of the same Divinity. Similarly, their mothers Kausalya, Sumitra
and Kaikeyi used to move always in the company of one another. There was
no discord between them. The unity between the four brothers was in fact
the sum and substance of the story of Ramayana. None can describe in full
the glory of Ramayana. Each one attempted to describe the glory of
Ramayana in his own unique style. With the result, a number of literary
works on Ramayana have become available today. The human nature is not
limited to the mere form. It consists of the body, mind, intellect, senses
and above all, the heart the seat of love. The Ramayana is a great story
of intense interaction between these five aspects of human nature. It is
not possible for anyone to fully describe the interplay of these factors
in Ramayana, however much one may strive.
Once, Kausalya was engaged in some work. Meanwhile, Bharata came running
and sat on the lap of Kausalya and started crying. Kausalya was a bit
surprised about the reason for Bharata’s agony. She tried to console him
and enquired as to what made him cry. Bharata replied that they were
playing a ball game and each time Rama was purposely getting defeated in
order to ensure the victory of other brothers. Thus, the unity, love and
affection between the brothers were such that they always tried to please
others. They used to experience supreme bliss in the company of one
another. It was only Lakshmana who could understand fully the nature of
Rama and it is only Satrughna who could understand fully the nature of
Bharata.
The women in Ramayana were also exemplary in nature. When Rama was going
to the forest to fulfil the wishes and command of his father, King
Dasaratha, Sumitra asked Lakshmana to accompany Rama. Immediately,
Lakshmana followed him. He experienced great joy in accompanying his elder
brother Rama to the forest. Similarly, Satrughna also experienced great
joy in the company of Bharata and accompanied him wherever he went. What
does the name of ‘Satrughna imply? It means the one who destroys the
enemies. Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna were ideal brothers. It is
not enough to merely extol their ideals, but we must also try to
experience that great bond of love in our day-to-day lives and share it
with others. The great epic Ramayana is not a mere story. It also explains
and expounds the Atma Tattwa. One has to experience that Atma Tattwa with
reaction, reflection and resound. The Ramayana Tattwa has to be understood
properly and translated into our day-to-day lives.
Embodiments of Love!
The Ramayana cannot be compared with other Puranic texts. It is not merely
a great poetic work, but a great treatise on human relationships between
parents and children, between brothers, husband and wife and the king and
his subjects. it is only when we are able to understand the significance
of Ramayana in this larger context, that the country will prosper with
love and affection between the citizens. In a few years time, nay, very
shortly, the whole world will realise the greatness of Ramayana and try to
emulate the ideals set in Ramayana. Today, we find a wide variety of
nations, religions and castes in the world. No. No. The situation will
certainly change. Within a short span of time, the world will realise the
truth:
There is only one religion, the Religion of Love.
There is only one caste, the Caste of Humanity.
There is only one God, He is Omnipresent.
The greatest truth propounded by Ramayana is the oneness among humanity.
When there is such unity, there will be mutual love between people. When
that mutual love between different people develops, the whole world can
experience great joy and happiness. Thus, it is only Ramayana that can
provide great joy to the entire humanity. Hence, let every individual
chant the Divine Name “Rama! Rama! Rama!”
Urmila, the wife of Lakshmana was a good painter. She was painting a
picture to be presented to Sri Rama on the occasion of His coronation.
Exactly at that moment, Lakshmana entered her room. She wanted to get up
and look who was the visitor. In the confusion, the paint got spilled over
the unfinished painting. She felt very bad. “How come this painting got
spoiled when actually I wanted to portray the beauty and majesty of Sri
Rama on the occasion of His coronation and show it to the world”, she
thought.
Urmila had a very compassionate heart. She always entertained noble
thoughts. She did not feel sad even for a moment when her husband
Lakshmana accompanied Rama to the forest. She was always contemplating on
Sri Rama during His exile to the forest. Not only she, the wives of
Bharata and Satrughna, Mandavi and Srutakeerthi were also engaged in
constant contemplation of Sri Rama and praying for His return to Ayodhya.
Thus, when they were in constant contemplation of Rama, their strength
increased day by day. If you analyse the underlying meaning of every
incident in the Ramayana, all of them point to only one principle – the
principle of unity; unity between the brothers, unity between their wives,
etc. Even in times of calamity like when Lakshmana fell unconscious during
the war with the Rakshasas (demons) in Lanka, Rama did not lose heart,
neither Sumitra, the mother of Lakshmana. She was always confident that no
danger would ever befall Lakshmana, since he was in the service of Lord
Rama. Thus, during the entire period of 14 years of Rama’s exile to the
forest, all the brothers and their wives were always thinking and wishing
the well-being of Rama only; so, were their mothers. Such was the nobility
of their hearts.
Embodiments of Love!
Any amount of narration of the greatness and nobility of the characters in
the Ramayana will not suffice and do justice to the cause. The story of
Ramayana cannot be fully described since it is “His Story”.
The stories of Lord Vishnu are amazing,
They purify the lives of the people in all the three worlds,
They are like the sickles that cut the creepers of worldly bondage,
They are like good friends who help you in times of need,
They are like shelters for the sages and seers doing penance in the
forest.
It is therefore, very essential for every human being to emulate the
ideals set by Lord Sri Rama in their day-to-day lives.
(Bhagawan concluded His Discourse with the Bhajan, “Rama Rama Rama Sita
…”)
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